By Sundeep Bhutoria
What Delhi does today, the rest of India should do tomorrow. At least on this one count.
Yes, it is high time the whole country follows in the footsteps of the Government of National Capital Territory Delhi, which issued a circular dated 28th June 2021 directing schools “to not deny admission” to any candidate putting in the details of “one of the parents” in the application form.
This would apply to all “government/government-aided/private recognized schools” under the Directorate of Education.
The notice was issued after some parents approached the department with complaints of private schools not accepting the application if it contained only the name of a single parent. The circular brought clarity and much-needed relief for such families struggling with the admission process.
It is an exemplary step and the credit goes to the Government of the National Capital Territory for initiating such a far-reaching move. This surely deserves a huge round of applause.
When it comes to admitting one’s child to school, what widows, divorced or single mothers have to go through is nothing less than an ordeal. If she declares herself to be a single parent, most schools straightaway deny admission to the child or cite all kinds of legalities.
On the other hand, if she does not put herself down as a single parent, the school management expects the father’s documents at the time of application and his presence throughout the admission process.
This continues to happen across the country despite the Right to Education (RTE) Act and the landmark Supreme Court judgement of 2015 that ruled that a single unmarried mother can be the legal guardian of her children without any consent from her male counterpart. The court had opined that the safety of the child was of utmost importance.
A person who left the child and shunned responsibility need not be asked for any consent. The ruling also held that insisting that a lady disclose the name of the other parent also amounts to taking away her rights in this democratic country. The apex court had overturned previous decisions that required a mother to get the father’s permission before claiming sole guardianship of a child born out of marriage.
India is a patriarchal society and being a single mother has never been easy. It is hard for many to accept the mother’s documents when it comes to authorizing if a child is eligible for admission under RTE. Also, as per the original law, the male parent is the guardian for the child. The female parent does not have any authority and also no independent legal status. In all government records, they have to mention the name of the father.
There are some famous examples in India like former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen. She first adopted her elder daughter Renee at the age of 25 after fighting all legal odds and societal prejudices, even at the risk of undermining her glamorous career. She had said in an interview, “Being a single mother is not easy. It is very romantic but it’s not easy.” Sushmita then fought for nearly 10 years in court to adopt her second daughter Alisah, since the adoption of a son after a daughter was then mandated.
I can empathise with some aspects of what single women face in India. In fact, when Late Dr Prabha Khaitan wanted to adopt me, there were so many complications as per the prevailing law with respect to a single woman wanting to adopt a child.
The Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) is a statutory body of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, functioning as the nodal body for adoption of Indian children.
It is mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions. CARA is also designated as the Central Authority to deal with inter-country adoptions in accordance with the provisions of the Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption, 1993, ratified by Government of India in 2003. CARA primarily deals with adoption of orphan, abandoned and surrendered children through its associated/recognized adoption agencies.
In 2015, the Ministry of Women and Child Development issued the Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) Guideline which permits a single woman to adopt a child of any gender. The Juvenile Justice Act does not lawfully prescribe a single male to adopt a female child.
Orphans and children of widowed, divorced or single mothers are allowed admission under the Right to Education Act if they meet the terms of the Act but problems arise when local bodies executing the admission process refuse to accept the mother’s documents as official papers for the child. In the recent past, many such cases of divorced mothers failing to get their children admitted to school have come up.
It is mandatory in most schools for the child to fill in the father’s name, and schools are known to reject an application on the grounds of lack of documents or incomplete application if the documents of the father are not submitted.
It is most unfortunate and unfair that the concept of single mothers is yet to be accepted by our society. This needs to change and change fast, and the education department dealing with RTE admissions must show the way by accepting documents of single, widowed or divorced mothers, or orphans.
In the case of being abandoned by the father and the mother passing on, the child comes under the care of the maternal grandparents but if they cannot produce original documents showing the father’s particulars, admission is often denied.
As societal norms change — and I once again commend the Delhi government for what they have done — the country’s legal framework should keep pace with the changing times through proper legal reforms. Only then can social reform prove effective and enduring.
(Sundeep Bhutoria is a social activist working in the field of welfare, international cultural cooperation, and the promotion of Indian arts. He is the Trustee of Prabha Khaitan Foundation)
(IBNS)